1986 Fun Run Participants, Wester Hailes

Category

Library Item

Item no

19860

Title

1986 Fun Run Participants, Wester Hailes

Description

Two boys sit at the top of a grassy mound and show off their certificates and medals for completing the 1986 Wester Hailes Fun Run. Behind them is a collection of low and high rise buildings, including Wester Hailes Education Centre, and a fenced car park where several cars are parked. A wide paved path leads towards the finish line and is lined on either side by spectators wearing summer clothes. The Fun Run was sponsored by the Wester Hailes Sentinel, the community newspaper.

Artist / maker

Walsh, Kevin

Date

1986

Size

25.4 x 20.3 cm

Type

Photograph

Wester Hailes, located on the western periphery of Edinburgh, is a post-war housing estate constructed between 1969 and 1975. On completion, the housing stock comprised a mixture of tenements and high rise. Wester Hailes possessed a declining population with a high proportion of single parent and low income households, high unemployment and a high turnover of tenancies. It was one of four peripheral housing estates chosen to take part in the New Life for Urban Scotland Initiative in 1988. The initiative and the partnerships that they generated were expected to provide valuable lessons on how to tackle the social, economic and environmental problems of large urban distressed areas. The area was extensively redeveloped during the 1990s and 2000s with a number of initiatives outlined by the Wester Hailes Partnership. These initiatives covered housing and environmental improvement, the improvement of social facilities, the provision of training opportunities and the promotion of community activities and involvement. Housing and environmental improvements have had a visible impact with a large number of properties being renovated and others being demolished and replaced with newer 'low-rise' housing.

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Related subjects

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Medals

People > Children > Boys

Places > Edinburgh areas > Wester Hailes

Transport > Infrastructure > Walkways

Transport > Land > Cars